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Purcell plans 100+ locations for May vote

Posted at 3:30 PM, Mar 31, 2016
and last updated 2016-03-31 18:30:58-04

Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell wants to have more than 100 polling places for an upcoming special election.

In a Tweet sent Thursday, Purcell said her office would try to double the number of polling locations for the May 17 special election than were open for the presidential preference election earlier this month.

Purcell has faced heavy criticism for the decision to only have 60 polling locations across the state's most populous county, leading to long lines where people waited several hours to cast a ballot. She took full responsibility for what happened at a county supervisors meeting the following day.

"I made an error in judgment in planning this election," Purcell said. "I should have had more polling places, and I am very sorry about that."

Monday, state lawmakers questioned Purcell and Secretary of State Michele Reagan about the wait times in a three-hour hearing which featured public calls for the pair to resign and demands for a re-vote of the presidential preference election.

Officials have defended the decision, saying about three-fourths of eligible voters in the county requested early ballots, leaving only roughly 25 percent who would have needed to vote in person.

The May 17 statewide special election covers Proposition 123 and Proposition 124. Proposition 123 deals with state education funding and Prop 124 covers changes to public pensions.